Vera McGrath given 18 months with credit for time served

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Vera McGrath received an 18-month prison sentence with credit for more than two years and seven months already served under a life sentence for her subsequently quashed 2010 murder conviction. Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed the term at the Central Criminal Court on 5 June 2014.

She was arraigned on 2 June 2014 on a charge of materially assisting Colin Pinder through the disposal of evidence relating to her husband Bernard Brian McGrath’s manslaughter at Lower Coole, Westmeath. The charge identified Pinder as the killer and specified an unknown date between 16 March and 18 April 1987.

McGrath pleaded guilty, and the prosecution accepted her plea. The proceedings were reported on 5 June 2014.

On 11 March 2013, the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned her murder conviction. Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman directed a retrial because prejudicial evidence had been admitted.

The sentencing judge said McGrath would need to attend prison for processing, after which she would qualify for release. Her previous time in custody meant she would serve no further prison time.

McGrath had stood trial alongside Pinder, whose manslaughter conviction resulted in a nine-year prison term.

Prosecuting counsel Michael Bowman BL described the offending as particularly serious because material facts were concealed and the entire body was disposed of twice. He said discovery depended on assistance from McGrath’s daughter Veronica.

For the defence, Mr Patrick Gageby SC said McGrath had cooperated extensively, shown gardaí the location and identified the remains as her husband’s. He said she admitted the charge at the earliest opportunity. He also said full credit could not be given because her time served far exceeded the statutory minimum.

In deciding the sentence, the judge considered her cooperation, the absence of previous convictions and how old the case was.